Durban ambush: KZN police come under heavy gunfire as manhunt is launched

KZN police have launched a manhunt after officers making a stop-and-search in Cato Manor were followed and then came under heavy gunfire while transporting two arrested suspects in Durban.

Stop-and-search yields an AK-47 and two arrests

Police said Cato Manor officers were carrying out routine crime-prevention and stop-and-search duties on Monday night when they spotted a silver Toyota Etios parked at Bonela sports field along Raymond Road.

“Police approached the vehicle, and they found two occupants inside the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the recovery of an AK-47 assault rifle and four fully loaded magazines. The two suspects were duly arrested,”

a police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said.

Ambush while driving to the station

Netshiunda said that while officers were driving on Dunbar Road towards a police station to formally charge the suspects, they were followed by two vehicles, a white Toyota Double Cab and a white Toyota Corolla Cross. The arrested suspects warned police officers to drive off because the occupants of those vehicles were going to shoot at them.

Police reported that the arrested men told officers they were expecting the same vehicles to deliver another AK-47 “for a cash-in-transit robbery which was planned for Tuesday, 25 August.”

According to Netshiunda, “Police indeed sped off but found themselves under heavy gunfire from the occupants of the two vehicles. The presence of several members of the public prevented police from returning fire to avoid calamity. Instead, police drove tactically until they found refuge at a police station.”

Injuries, hospitalisation and appeal for information

Netshiunda added that the two arrested suspects sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospital, where they are recovering under police guard.

Police have appealed to anyone with information on the suspects’ whereabouts to report it to the nearest police station or to the Crime Stop number 08600 10111. Tip-offs can also be relayed anonymously through the MySAPS App.